Bunnies bring easter eggs right? Maybe that explains why they’re all over Walt Disney World this time of year.

It’s getting to be an annual tradition. The popular Egg-stravaganza egg-hunt is returning to Disneyland, Disney California Adventure, and EPCOT from March 27-April 5, this spring. During that time you can search through the parks for ‘hidden’ eggs themed to Disney characters, fill out a map and then redeem it for a surprise.

You have to purchase your map and stickers $4.95 at the following locations:

We recently looked at seven attractions that Disney will likely never build again in their theme parks, everybody told me that while the list was accurate, it was also depressing. Today I want to offer a little more hope (in most cases) with ten technologies I expect to see in Disney use in its resorts and attractions soon.

I wrote about some of these in my book “Dispatch from Disneyland” back in 1999 by extrapolating from some very early experiments Walt Disney Imagineering was doing a the time. It’s great to see some of these becoming less speculative fiction and more non-fiction.

1. Increased personalization – This is one of the true promises of MyMagic+ and the RFID and NFC chips that make it possible. As a guest, you won’t just just hear or see your name or image in an attraction, but attractions will change their environment around you based on your preferences. For instance it could adjust sound level, brightness, scariness factor, etc.. Disney can analyze your shopping, dining, and attraction patterns and make suggestions on merchandise, food locations, and attractions may have have missed or when a short line is available for a suitable attraction. The list is pretty much endless and the technology to do most of this is here today.

2. Augmented reality – We’ve seen limited use of virtual reality in Disney Quest, but AR is more about laying facts, data, experiences on top of our existing reality resulting in a more immersive, connected experience. Aurasma is just a parlor trick compared to what we could see here. 3D Augmented Reality is in the near future. There are any number of demo videos out there, here’s a semi-recent one where it’s easy to see some of these ideas translated into theme park experiences.

3. Self-driving Podcars – Yes, it’s the future WALL-E warned us about, but just like the Monorail was the future of transportation back in 1959, the autonomous self-driving podcar is the future of all transportation. Walt Disney World is the perfect place to model this. I wrote a little about this before. The technology has become much more advanced in the last 18 months and Google even has a prototype vehicle which would work perfectly within the confines of Walt Disney World. Come on Bob Chapek, make it happen as your first big move as new Disney Parks & Resorts Chair.

4. Minority Report / Corning Glass – In the not too distant future any surface can be made interactive. Remember this video from Corning?

Yeah, that was 2011. They’re getting a lot closer to making it ready for retail. But first, it needs to show up in a showcase location, and really what better location that Disney, right? I mean you could redo EPCOT’s FutureWorld in this stuff and really blow everyone away.

5. Drones – The burrito drone may seem like a practical joke, but in a resort setting like Walt Disney World, having delivery to your room or spot at a water park by drone is a real possibility. Doesn’t have to be food either, could be lost magic bands, a toothbrush, a special gift from Mickey Mouse. Not sure how this would work inside an attraction, but I trust Disney’s Imagineers to figure it out.

6. Haptic feedback / ultrasonics – This technology will allow what you see in the virtual / augmented reality space to feel real to the touch. Disney Research has been doing a lot of work in this area and I expect to see it brought to theme park attractions in the not too distant future (maybe even in Avatar).

It’s really not fair, this whole preview of rehearsals for The Hunchback of Notre Dame at Paper Mill Playhouse is less than a minute. But even at that length it’s a marvelous production.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a dramatic retelling of the famous love story on a grand scale, with a lush, emotionally rich score. The musical features a score by Alan Menken (Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast) and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Pippin). This new production is the only stage collaboration between these two giants of the American musical theater.

The show opens on March 4 and is scheduled to run through April 5. If you’re lucky enough to get over to Millburn, NJ to see a show, I’d appreciate you sending a review for here on the blog.

If it does well in New Jersey, it might make it to Broadway. Let’s keep our hopes high.

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A web log for all fans of Walt Disney, The Disney Company, and its many products. Using the theories behind Walt Disney's family oriented entertainment and education, this blog is intended to be a safe read for the whole family. Proud to be a part of Quality Will Out Omnimedia.
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